Godfrey, Michael William

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 2, 2015
DocketWR-76,780-03
StatusPublished

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Bluebook
Godfrey, Michael William, (Tex. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

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Michael William Godfrey - TDCJ # 1340683

Boyd Unit 200 Spur 113 Teague, Texas 75860 Oetober 26, 2015 ._ RCC,E|VED EN Honorable Abel Acosta ceuRT 0F cRchNALAPPEALs Chief Deputy Clerk N[]\/ 02 2915 Court of Criminal Appeals . . 12 0 P 0 B°X 3 8 AbetAeosta,Ctetk

Austin, Texas 78711 RE= Filin`g of Applicant’s objection - SUPPL`EMENTAL

Dear Honorable Clerk: Enclosed, please FH\ID Applicant’S Objection to Court’s Findings Of Fact and Conclusions of Law - SUPPLEMENTAL. FILE, and bring to the

attention of the Court Justices.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

MWN/

Michael Wiuiam Golfrey TDCJ #1340683

Applicant Pro Se

Cc: Chris Daniel, Harris County District Clerk’s Offlce

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS IN THE 230TH I)ISTRICT COURT oF HARRIS CoUNTY, TEXAS EX PARTE Case # WR-76-780-3

MICHAEL W. GODFREY Trial Court No. 912345-D

OMOUJ¢M’WO

APPLICANT’S OBJECTION TO COURT’S FINDING OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

SUPPLEMENTAL

TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT:

COMES NOW, l\/Iichael William Godfrey (Applicant) in the above styled and numbered cause and files this, his first Supplemental to his ~ Objection to Court’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of LaW. Applicant

Would ask the Court to consider the following:

I. BACKGROUND Applicant Was alleged in a Motion To Adjudicate Guilt, among other things, inter alia, possession of marijuana less than 4 `grams, and an

Adjudication Hearing Was held. The Honorable Susan Brown of the 185th

District Court of Harris County found the possession charge to be ‘true’ and assessed 15 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. n

Applicant subsequently filed an Application For Writ of Habeas Corpus. The Honorable Brad Hart of the 230th District Court of Harris County adopted and signed the State’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law on September 8, 2015, one (l) month past the due date for the Court to forward the file to the Court of Criminal Appeals. Applicant then filed his Objection to Court’s Findings of F act and Conclusions of Law.

In his ‘Objection’ he re-iterates his position that he is “actually innocent” of the only law violation that revoked his probation: possession of marijuana, less than 4 grams because:

(1) Matthew De Los Santos brings “newly discovered” affidavit testimony that the marijuana did not belong to Applicant, but Was his, and that he had left it in the backseat of the Applicant’s truck the night prior to being stopped and the marijuana Was found, and; t

(2) Applicant’s defense counsel failed to investigate this exculpatory alibi evidence. Thus, because counsel failed to discover this exculpatory alibi evidence, it Was “unavailable” to the fact-finder, Judge

Susan Brown of the lSSth District Court. It is “more likely than not” that the

Judge would have continued Applicant on his probation, finding him

“actually innocent” of the only law violation that revoked his probation.

II. ACTUAL INNOCENCE

The entire time the Applicant was on probation, just under four (4) years, he was required to take a drug test every two (2) weeks, even against the assessment that he was not susceptible to using drugs. Not once did he test positive. (Exhibit A). Therefore, it would be safe to draw the inference that Applicant was not in the habit of using marijuana If he was, arguendo, he would be in the habit of possessing it. If he was in the habit of possessing it, then, at least, it would be safe to infer that Applicant would not be careless and leave it out in the open on the backseat where it would be clearly seen by someone looking in, i.e.: say, a police officer (Officer Michael Sprinkle) initiating a routine traffic stop for a recently expired inspection sticker. It is a sad day when someone does twelve years in prison on a fifteen year sentence because of an expired inspection sticker.

j Applicant was the owner/operator of SG Systems, a six-figure General Contracting business in Commercial Construction. Applicant built malls, banks, and shopping strip centers. He used his trucks, registered in the SG

System’s name, as “company trucks”, to transport workers to and from job

sites. It is not unreasonable .to infer that the marijuana belonged to one of the workers, especially since it was found in the backseat.

In light of this premise, it would also not be unreasonable to infer that the marijuana was left in the backseat by someone who was in the backseat. (emphasis added). Matthew De) Los Santos brings “newly discovered” evidence that it was him who had left it in the backseat the night prior to the

traffic stop for the inspection sticker and the marijuana was discovered

IN CONCLUSION, it would be unreasonable to assume that the marijuana belonged to the Applicant. In light of the “newly discovered” evidence, the Court should consider the existence of another perpetrator, and declare Applicant “actually innocent” of the possession charge, and grant

relief.

III. ABUSE OF DISCRETION After the first Application For Writ of Habeas Corpus was filed on January 4, 2010, claiming Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Conflict of Interest, and Prosecution’s Use of Misleading Testimony at the Adjudication Hearing, the State, in its Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law,

which the Court adopted, proposed that even without counsel’s ineffective

assistance, counsel’s conflict of interest, and Prosecution’s use of Misleading_ Testimony, the Applicant plead ‘true’ to the allegation that he purchased alcohol. (R.R. at 7) State’s Proposed Findings, 33).

Applicant pled true to purchasing alcohol because he was being honest. Applicant purchased a bottle of Southem Comfort for his mother while in route to his mother’s house. The 185th used this to revoke Applicant’s probation. This was a clear Abuse of Discretion because “buying it is not a violation

A District Court Abuses its Discretion when it improperly applies the law, or when a judge renders a decision that is incorrect U.S. v Alexius, 76 F. 3d 642 .(5"‘ Circuit 1996) (the Court of Appeals heldthat the District Court abused its discretion by not allowing the cross-examination of a

witness regarding a pending federal felony drug charge and that the error

was not harmless); U.S. v. Russell 76 F. 3d 808 (6th Circuit 1996) (trial

court improperly considered defendant’s involvement in drug transaction that\ happened months after charged offense and that did not occur “during the commission of the offense of conviction”.

In an email conversation between Elizabeth Horton (CSC), the Applicant’s Probation Officer, and Sheryl Frerichs (CSC), another Probation

Officer on August 5, 2004 at 8:41Al\/I, Elizabeth Horton stated: ”I told John

(polygrapher) we needed to know specifically if the defendant consumed

alcohol because “buying it is not a violation”...” (Emphasis added). There

is no proof in the record that Applicant “consumed” alcohol. (Exhibit B). This Honorable Court should consider these facts in determining

whether Applicant’s probation should have been revoked.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE,\PREMISES CONSIDERED, Michael William

Godfrey (Applicant) PRAYS for declaratory judgment

Respectfully Submitted,

WMM%

Michael` William Godfrey TDCJ #1340683

Boyd Unit

200 Spur 113

Teague, Texas 75860

Applicant Pro Se.

CERTIFICATE ()F SERVICE

I, Michael William Godfrey, TDCJ #1340683, being currently incarcerated at the Boyd Unit, TDCJ-CID, and being the Applicant in the foregoing proceedings do verify that this is a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been mailed to:

Linda Garcia

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Related

United States v. Noreen Venise Alexius
76 F.3d 642 (Fifth Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Garrett Lee Russell
76 F.3d 808 (Sixth Circuit, 1996)

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